A Good Enough Reason
by Guardian of the Nakano
Summary: Gaara needed a good enough reason to join the band started by Uchiha Sasuke and his weird group of friends, until one day, one of those friends convinced him he didn't have a good enough reason not to. One-shot for Haaku12 for winning my HSB contest! Rated M for language and adult themes, death, etc R&R and enjoy! My first SuiGaa. Ever. Seriously. You can tell.


Gaara first met Sasuke Uchiha in the music room of their high school, playing Song 2 by Blur on his beaten up old 6-string, a combat-boot clad foot propped up on the desk as he leaned against a white-erase board, random doodles scattered around the red-head's fluffy, utterly touchable hair cartoonishly as he seemed lost in his own world. Black rings of insomnia detailed his sleepless nights as he quietly nodded to the beat, his lips moving soundlessly to the music. Sasuke gave him an incredulous glance.

"Why don't you sing?"

"I don't sing," he stated factually, laying his guitar down on the ground, propped against the desk he sat on.

"Why?"

"I just don't."

"You know the words."

Gaara blinked twice, irritated. Taking a black marker, he uncapped it and wrote above his head, without taking his eyes off Sasuke, "LOL."

Sasuke laughed once. With a convincing smirk, he stated, "You're in my band."

With a silent scoff, Gaara rolled his eyes. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because, no."

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets. "Hn. Fine. You'll join eventually. I need you."

In response, the red-head picked up the guitar once more and began to strum, "When I Come Around," sarcastically, mouthing the words silently.

-o-

"Come around yet?"

Gaara ignored the raven-haired teen as he sidled up to him in the lunch room, a smirk on his pierced lips and a mischievous glint in his dark eyes.

"...You Irish?"

"The Hell's that supposed to mean?" the red-head asked without looking up from what was supposed to be Chicken Tetrazzini, forcing down a plastic forkful as the punk snorted out a laugh.

"I mean, you come from Irish descent?"

"No."

The silence went on for a bit longer, Sasuke watching as Gaara ignored him for the most part, only acknowledging him with the occasional pause, listening to see if he was still there. Realizing his persistance, Gaara chose to ignore him further.

"I come from mostly Japanese, myself, with the exception of a little Italian on my Mom's side and Korean on my Dad's. You can see the Italian in my older brother, Itachi. I look more Japanese, though."

Acknowledged with only a "Hm", Gaara pulled apart the roll on his plate and absently popped a piece into his mouth, chewing boredly.

"Aren't you gonna talk?"

He swallowed. "I don't talk."

"You just did," Sasuke pointed out absently.

With a barely concealed roll of his sea foam green eyes, Gaara tossed his tray in the garbage and grabbed his Slipknot messenger bag in one hand, his guitar case in the other, shifting the bag onto his shoulder as he left the cafeteria.

-o-

"Hey," Gaara heard behind him in the hallway.

"The fuck do you want, Uchiha-!"

Expecting to see the raven-haired teen behind him, Gaara turned with a malicious glare, only to find a boy with bleached white hair with a tint of blue, a hand on his hip and a water bottle in his hand.

"Well..." Suigetsu began. "I'm not Sasuke, sorry to disappoint. Name's Suigetsu. I just wanted to talk to you."

Gaara blinked twice, rolling his eyes. "About the band."

"Right," Suigetsu pointed with the hand holding the water bottle, "Look, I need a favor. I've heard you play. You're exactly what we need. Sasuke's obsessed with gettin' you in the band, but he isn't seeing the point of it. We need you because we have a gig this Friday at that bar downtown, Gekokujo, and we're out a guitarist. Apparently, there was something going on with our drummer, Jugo, and he's kinda locked up. Our lead guitarist, Karin, is also a drummer, and Sasuke said he could probably learn the chords well enough to play while he sang, but this is kind of a big deal, right?"

"If he can learn them-"

"He can't. It's hard. Trust me. I've been playin' since I was seven, and the chords are killer in more ways than one. Much less doing much more than backup vocals. I'm on bass guitar, and Sasuke's vocals. Karin's taking drums, and we just need you. C'mon, man. Ever been in a band?"

The expression on the redhead's face told Suigetsu blatantly otherwise. "Then you don't know what it's like. Sure, your band mates piss you off, but you get used to it. And if we cut it big, you cut it big. Worst case scenario, they don't like us, but there's bigger fish to fry out there. Come on. You got talent. I know it when I see it. And judging by the callouses on your fingers, you got it," Suigetsu offered a sharp smile, holding his hands out amicably as if to prove there was no harm in trying.

Gaara gave him a suspicious glance, eyeing Suigetsu carefully.

"And we're gettin' paid, like, four-hundred bucks. A hundred dollars and a chance to play onstage. Where's the danger in it?"

Leaning back on his heel slightly, the red-head crossed his arms characteristically, judging the tall, slender teen before him silently. His eyes betrayed nothing as they glinted lightly, watching cautiously as they lost their usually matte finish. The older teen's smile widened a bit as he watched Gaara decide, pushing a bit more.

"'A man who carries the cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way'," he quoted wisely. "Mark Twain."

"When you carry a cat by the tail, wouldn't you agree that the outcome is unfavorable?"

"Only if you let that pussy get a chance at ya, Gaa-chan," Suigetsu smirked.

"Don't call me that..." he sighed. "I'm in. One time only."

"Awesome! Thank, Gaa-chan," Suigetsu clapped him on the shoulder. "Practice is this afternoon at six. Goes on until nine. I'll email you the 'deets."

"I have to be somewhere until six. I'll be a bit late."

"That's alright. Karin usually don't get there until eight anyways. She says, 'Fashionably late.' Leaves me to wonder where the Hell she got her fashion sense," Suigetsu snorted, turning and walking down the hallway, casually throwing up a hand in goodbye, calling, _"Ja né,"_ behind himself.

-o-

"Hey, Temari," Gaara mumbled quietly, sitting down beside the hospital bed quietly as he saw his older sister turn to smile at him.

_"Hey...Gaara,"_ she smiled, sitting up slowly.

"Be careful," he warned.

_"Gaara, I'm your older sister...I know how to take care of myself, dammit!" _she laughed, though the cough following it didn't convince her young red-headed brother at all.

Gaara watched his older sister carefully, her maternal smile and harsh, independent eyes. Her hair was thinning, but still the same strawberry blonde as her and Kankuro's mother had before she died when Temari was only twelve. Her eyes were a dark blue, dedicated and confident as she smiled at her younger brother. Gaara rolled his eyes as Temari rapped him gently on the cheekbone beneath his eye with her knuckles, smirking. "Don't go all emo on me, Gaa-chan. You had your adolescence for that."

"..." the redhead smiled gently, fleetingly as Temari began to cough once more. "Do you need anything, Nee-san?"

"Nee-san? You're going soft on me, Gaara. Can you go get me a diet Coke? I need something other than water for once."

"I already know you can't have it."

_"Damn..."_ she sighed, giving her brother a half-hearted glare. "You're such a goodie-goodie sometimes, Gaara-kun. Even Shikamaru offered to buy me a soda."

"Your boyfriend wants you to hurry up and die, then."

"fiance, Gaara. You can't accept that?"

"It's weird."

"It's happening."

"Whatever..." Gaara relented. "Hey...Temari?"

"Yeah, Gaara?" Temari had picked up a book from the side table, flipping through to her bookmark.

"Fifty Shades of Grey?..." Gaara rolled his eyes. "God, Temari. But...I...kind of joined a band."

"A band?" Temari was now listening intently as she put the book down. "Awesome! With who?"

"A few kids from school. Their guitarist was out, so I'm filling in. Sasuke Uchiha's band."

"Sasuke? Doesn't he have that older brother, Itachi?'

Gaara nodded.

"Ah. His boyfriend was in my art class in college. Shisui. He's talented. Used to make me feel like shit just by painting something better than me. He's a sweet guy, though. Heard they were getting married, too."

"...Two boys?"

"Yeah. Something wrong?"

"No...just...a bit odd."

"Homophobic, are we?"

"No," Gaara stated simply. "I've never met somebody like that first-hand. Anyways, I have to leave soon. We have rehearsal at his house."

Temari smiled. "When's your first gig?"

"Friday."

He noticed his older sister light up brilliantly as she asked for the details. He gave them to her quickly, getting up to leave, not before hugging his older sister goodbye, praying silently to a God he didn't believe in that it wasn't really goodbye, but just a see-you-later.

-o-

"Hey, Red!" he heard as he descended the stairs to Sasuke's basement, electric guitar in tow.

"..." Gaara didn't respond as he came down, glancing around the room. Apparently, Sasuke was well-off, considering the extensive sound equipment and shiny new musical equipment lining the walls.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder. "Glad you came."

"That song sucks," Gaara stated simply, setting his guitar case on the leather sofa. "Anyways, I got the fingering down for the most part but that's kind of unclear," Gaara motioned towards a chord on the last page, "And the tempo's smudged. Is that..."

"I'll help ya, squirt."

Gaara supressed an eye-roll as Suigetsu hopped off the stage and leaned over his shoulder.

Sasuke smiled. "Now we just gotta wait for Karin."

"Oh, Sexy Sasuke!" They heard a shrill voice as a girl with bright red hair, slutty makeup, and too-short shorts made her way down the stairs, a pair of bright pink drumsticks slid into the waistband of them. Her knee-high boots were shiny, sleek leather, heels as sharp as stilettos and nearly as long. Her violet top was also leather. A spiked wrist cuff was tight around her left wrist as she smirked.

"Why do you dress like such a slut, Karin? You're already ugly, but must you really accentuate your horrible figure?"

The only response was a sharp rap against the back of Suigetsu's head with the bright pink drumsticks.

-o-

_"The road I walk is paved in gold...to glorify my platinum soul..."_ Sasuke sang roughly into the mic, the techno beating through the stereo subwoofers as Gaara mentally ran through the chords in his mind, nodding his head silently to the music. _"I'll buy my way to talk to God...so he can live with what I'm not..."_

_He really gets into it..._ Gaara thought as he glanced at Sasuke, screaming into the mic, something about lying entertainment as he drained it out. _Never seen someone so passionate about music...they all are..._

Suigetsu had his head bowed as he played, his fingers moving steadily until the chorus came up, the only time he really raised his head, only to scream backup into the microphone in front of him. Gaara had to turn his head slightly to see the white-haired bassist as he sang into his own microphone.

It all came together perfectly, Karin's vocals coming in at just the right moment in the solo to tie everything like a present. Sasuke's interpretation brought about the façade of absolute confidence, pride that should've been obnoxious but was so brutally honest it was believable. Suigetsu's appearance, however, really seemed to bring everything together; somewhat like how a simple apple ties together a still life. The appearance of degradation seemed overcast, his head bowed in such a way, but his feet planted firmly as if he was defying and denying every accusation Sasuke sang. He seemed to come alive in every chorus, though, as he threw his head up and screamed convincingly, _**"You're on your knees, begging me for more," **_as if he believed it himself.

Karin beat away on the drums, her high-heeled foot somehow easily keeping tempo on the kick bass, her microphone to the side of her head, easily accessable to someone who seemed to have been playing for ages. Her perfect timing was the heartbeat of the song, making the blood pulse, feeding the lies they sang about. She had perfect control over the entire song and she knew it. Karin played it like a queen, taking and grasping power and not letting it go, knowing if she messed up, even on purpose, the song was bust.

For half a moment, Gaara felt isolated.

-o-

"What's up? Why were you actin' all stiff, Gaa-chan?"

"I wasn't," he stated simply, tuning his guitar contently on the sofa as Sasuke went to grab some drinks and Karin warmed up her vocals more efficiently for the next song.

Suigetsu gave a cocky, all-knowing smirk that Gaara would've liked to knock off his face with a swing of his six-string, but decided against it. "You're in the band, now, dude. We're family."

"Not really," he responded simply. "I'm a stand-in."

"You don't hafta be."

"I am."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "Why not? You work perfectly with us. And I don't think Jugo'll be back anytime soon."

"..."

"He got let out on insanity charges or something."

Gaara let out a soft _hm_ in reply, strumming gently to test out the notes. He made a face of discontent and returned to tuning his six-string.

"So we need you, bro. If this goes well, we'll need someone with your talent. Where'd you learn?"

"I taught myself."

"Seriously?"

Gaara didn't reply. He only strummed his guitar again, nodding softly as he began to practice the main chords for the chorus of the next song.

"You really are talented," Suigetsu continued as if Gaara wasn't ignoring him. "You should seriously consider joining us. Trust me. You'll get used to Karin being a slut ("HEY!") and Sasuke being a dick ("I heard that..."). It even gets funny."

Gaara closed his eyes, instead listening intently to the sounds of his guitar. Suigetsu nudged him slightly. "Oi, c'mon," He handed Gaara an opened beer bottle. "You drink?"

Gaara blinked twice and took it silently, nodding.

"Cool. You'll fit right in."

"How do you know I wanna fit in...?" Gaara murmured quietly, staring at the bottle absently.

"Everybody does, even if not everybody knows it."

-o-

"Yeah...it's tomorrow. I'm a little nervous, to be honest."

"Well, it's your first concert. Are you guys a cover band, or do you have original songs?"

"A bit of both. The only two covers we've done so far is Innerpartysystem's 'Don't Stop,' and Papa Roach's 'Last Resort'," he muttered, eyeing the I.V. in his sister's arm pitifully.

"Well, what's the name?"

"Of what?" he blinked from his reverie.

"Of the band, stupid," Temari gently knocked Gaara on the cheekbone with her knuckles, smiling.

"Oh...'Hebi'."

"'Hebi'? Like, Snake?"

"Yeah."

"Seems...fitting...for Sasuke," Temari smiled apprasingly. "I hope you guys have fun tomorrow."

Gaara nodded. "I wish you could be there."

"Damned if I didn't, too, little brother," Temari smiled, rapping him once again below the eye as she smiled.

-o-

_Come out with us Gaa-chan, _Suigetsu texted the redhead at eight thirty-three that evening.

_No._

_Why?_

_Because, no._

He could practically feel Suigetsu roll his eyes as he recieved, _Come on._

_No._

_Give me a good reason and you dont have to go_

Gaara paused, staring at the LCD accusingly. "I'm not going anyways," he mumbled. _Because I don't want to. That's reason enough._

_Just meet us at the creek down by the junkyard know where it is?_

"Yes, I know where it is," he mumbled, about to type "No."

_I won't take no for an answer Kidnaping is always an option._

Gaara sighed, closing his phone and plugging it into the charger. "No," he stated simply. "Just...no."

-o-

"Gaara, ever since Kankuro died, you've been so withdrawn. Make some friends. What about that band of yours?"

"It isn't mine. I'm just filling in. It's a hundred bucks and I get to play."

Temari laughed, ruffling Gaara's hair only to recieve an irritated swat. "Don't do that."

With a slighted smile, Temari thumbed her book open again, returning to the text, only to hear, "I don't like Shikamaru."

"...what?"

"I don't like him. He's not your type."

"Gaara, how do you know what 'type' I have?"

"I know it because it isn't him."

Temari rolled her eyes, glancing at her little brother quietly. The rustling sheets filled the silence awkwardly as Temari murmured, "I love him, Gaara."

"Why?"

"Because. He may be lazy, and stupid, and an outright ass sometimes, but he's sweet. And he loves me, too. The ring should prove it enough," Temari delicately toyed with the diamond on her ring, gazing longingly at it. "And you two are my family. The only I have left."

"You love him because you need love."

"No," Temari growled out. "I love him because he's an asshole, and a smart aleck, and he treats me like I wanna be treated. He treats me like a fucking princess and makes me feel loved and I love him because while he's lazy and dumb he's sweet and unique and isn't a total dickhead like most men."

Gaara winced visibly, turning away.

"Gaara," she began.

"No. I understand."

"What's there to understand? It's love."

-o-

The noise from behind the curtain was nerve-wracking. Gaara blinked away the uneasieness slowly as he glanced around at his fellow band members, each in their own seperate world as they relaxed. Karin was stretching on a bar she had found in the back, bending over her leg in a provocative, cat-like manner. Sasuke was warming up his vocals with scales, a nervous smile on his pierced lips, the new black diamonds glinting in the light (He got them for the occasion). Suigetsu sipped his water in a quick, jittery manner, glancing to the black curtain every so often with a nervous stare. Gaara calmed the jutters with a deep breath, looking over to the two temporary bandmates they had for the show. The long-haired one was sitting on an amp, one knee pulled to his chest as he carefully dug beneath his nails with his thumbnail, toying with the black tips calmly, as if he did this every day. The curly-haired one was hooking his keytar up, adjusting the strap. The redhead adverted his eyes, however, when the curly-haired one strode over to the long haired one cooly and kissed him gently on the corner of the mouth, sitting on his heels in front of the long-haired one as they began to talk, the usually stoic crow-haired one smiling gently at the brunette.

_Sasuke's older brother..._

Sasuke turned to his older brother, calling his name. _Itachi...? Weasel?_

Itachi glanced up, his long black hair free from his ponytail as he flipped his hair over his shoulder, striding over to the punky teen, his long legs enticingly feminine, his Doc Martens oddly clunky on his thin build. Despite the loose slim-fit black jeans he wore, Gaara could tell he had to be at least five pounds underweight, but noticed that the other one, Shisui, didn't seem to mind as he shamelessly stared after his fiancee.

"..." Gaara simply turned away, making sure his guitar was properly tuned before they went on. He could reason that the attraction was because Itachi was so feminine, looking almost strikingly like a female at the right angle, his hair drastically long. The redhead noted that he bore a distinct resemblance to Amy Lee.

"Fuck!" Suigetsu looked up as the time hit for them to go on! "Shit. Not ready. Not ready."

"Shut UP, Suigetsu, you're gonna make us all nervous!"

Gaara looked over to Itachi and muttered quietly to Suigetsu, "What does he play?"

"Cello, piano, synth, violin, twelve-string, and back up vocals. He plays with us sometimes, but we decided to have him around for the concert. We need to impress, and our painfully effeminate Itachi is just the way to do it. His boytoy, Shisui, plays a wicked keytar, and we need that, too, so he's helpin' out as well."

Gaara only nodded, raking a hand through his hair as blaring lights illuminated the stage. Karin slid onto her stool at the drums and cleared her throat, muttering seductively, "One...two...three...four..." into the microphone, the curtains flying open.

Gaara strummed the first chord, looking down at his guitar. Recalling the fingerings, he began to play steadily, glancing up only when he was certain he could, only to see a strawberry blonde in the far back. With a twinge of something he couldn't name, Gaara looked back down discreetly as the bass picked up.

With the pickup of Sasuke's scratchy vocals, paired with Itachi's smooth voice cradling it underneath, the cheering began.

_"You said now or never..."_

-o-

"Oh my God!" Karin screamed, "I can't believe we did it!"

Sasuke laughed, falling back onto the grassy hill happily. "Holy shit, dude..."

Suigetsu smirked, "Told ya'll we could do it. Now, you'd think you'd believe me more often."

"I'm too happy to hit you right now, Suigetsu, don't fuck with me," Karin laughed chidingly, folding her hands behind her head. "Where's Gaa-kun?"

Suigetsu shrugged. "Imma go look for him. Be right back."

"Don't fuck him," Karin called after him, then laughed at the finger Suigetsu flashed as he walked away.

"Gaara...? Gaara..." Suigetsu called as he made his way down the hill near the creek, slipping slightly on a loose rock. He grabbed the trunk of a tree, narrowly avoiding falling and hitting his face on the hard packed dirt below. Jumping down, he noticed the redhead alone by the bank, his knees pulled to his chest loosely as his arms remained draped over them, watching the water quietly. "What's up man? We did it!"

Gaara didn't acknowledge him, only continued staring at the water. Suigetsu frowned a bit and plopped down beside him, digging two beers out of his messenger bag, handing one to the morose redhead. "You unhappy with somethin'? C'mon, man. We did great! I mean, yeah, my solo was a bit off, but what's a concert without improv, y'kno-"

"My sister was there..."

"Huh?" Suigetsu's head shot up, looking at Gaara curiously. "You have a sister? The only redheads I saw there were either ginger or dyed."

"No...she doesn't have red hair. She's my half-sister. She's blonde."

"Ah...don't get along or somethin'?"

"No...not that. She's just...kind of..." Gaara glanced at a rock beside his scuffed-up converse, tapping it lightly with the off-white rubber on the front of his shoe. "She's supposed to be in the hospital right now."

"What happened?"

"She has lung cancer."

Suigetsu's eyes widened slightly. "Oh...sorry, bro...I didn't know."

"..." Gaara didn't acknowledge him, only drinking some of the lukewarm beer and staring at the water quietly, blinking slowly as if thinking.

"How long's she had it...?"

"A year and a half...she was diagnosed right after my brother died in a motorcycle accident..." With no idea why Gaara was telling him this, he drank some more, feeling a warm flush start to overcome him slowly, welcome against the cold.

"Dude...that's terrible. It sucks to lose a sibling."

"How do you know...?" he asked absently, as if his mind wasn't completely there in reality with Suigetsu, sitting beside a creek in the middle of a freezing night.

"My older brother, Mangetsu. Some freak accident, ended up nearly decapitating him."

"Freak accident...?"

"Yeah...some truck had debris falling off the back, apparently a metal sheet or something came flying off and slit his throat while he was driving his new convertable he had just souped up. Worst part was, that we had a screaming match before he left home. Fighting over somethin' stupid...can't even remember it now," Suigetsu shrugged, taking a long swig of his beer and sighing, staring at the ground. "Wish I could've told him sorry. That I didn't mean what I said. But I can't."

Gaara nodded silently, feeling a slight pang in his chest as it hit home. After a while, he spoke up, too. "I was upset at Kankuro...because Temari was sick, and he was going to Ft. Lauderdale for a biker rally or something...I told him he had no sense of responsibility, to think of all the times that Temari had given up her freedom for us. He just shrugged it off and left. Apparently, he changed his mind and turned aro-ound..." Gaara stopped as his voice broke, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly as he drank some more, continuing. "He was coming back home when he was hit by some idiot who was going twenty over the speed limit on the highway. He was dead on impact from hemmoraging."

"Shit, dude...looks like we both fucked up, huh?" Suigetsu gave an ironic, bitter laugh as he tapped Gaara on the arm lightly with the back of his hand in a playful swat. "Life's...fucked up..."

Fingering the bottle in his hands gently, Suigetsu sighed quietly, that smile still imprinted on his face. "At least you got your sister."

"Not for long, by the looks of it."

"She looked fine, didn't she? Well enough to get out of the hospital, at least."

"Yeah, but even if the cancer is gone, she's getting married soon."

"Ah..."

Gaara crossed his arms over his knees and rested his chin on them, staring into the distance. Suigetsu looked over the redhead slowly, noticing how pale he was, his eyes a lonely seafoam green, thick black eyelashes framing them. He was thin and not very built, though undoubtably strong, judging by the way he had hit Sasuke one time, hard enough to bruise badly. He was short, but not terribly, a height that suited somebody like him, imposing and dark and frighteningly stunning if looked at in the right way. The tattoo above his left eye suited him well, the only one Suigetsu knew he had, piercings down his ears that seemed almost devoid of cartilage and utterly malliable. Suigetsu shifted slightly, watching the redhead intently as he blinked away sadness, his eyes slowly returning to their usual stoic matte.

"You're gonna miss her," he said finally.

"Yeah..." Gaara whispered, barely loud enough to hear, to even make a sound.

"Yeah..." Suigetsu returned, draining the rest of his beer in one go. He stared up at the sky absently, resting back on his hands as the stars drifted without purpose in the night sky, painfully devoid of any remorse of shunning others with their beauty. He then glanced to Gaara, a warm feeling welling in his chest. "Yeah..." he mumbled absently.

Before long, the redhead began to shiver lightly, his teeth chattering miserably in the cold night air. Yet, he made no move to leave, choosing only to stay in that spot, shivering and drowning in his loneliness, as if to punish himself for what he had thought he caused. Suigetsu's imagination played tricks on him as he swore he could see a tear run down Gaara's cheek in profile as the redhead curled into himself, looking incredibly vulnerable. And cold. Suigetsu shrugged off his jacket. "Here."

Gaara looked up, shaking his head no.

"Take it, dude. It's freezing. I got another one on."

"I'm fine."

"You're gonna get a fucking cold, bro, just take it."

"I said no."

"Gaara!"

"No!"

Suigetsu was up in the blink of an eye, forcing the jacket around the redhead's shoulders from the front, pulling him close unintentionally, the thick hoodie covering Gaara's shoulders and arms, the hood bunched up awkwardly and uncomfortably around the nape of his neck. Suigetsu gazed at the young redhead longingly, adjusting it. That's when he discovered Gaara's second tattoo.

"Karura?"

"My mother..." he whispered, his breath now visible slightly in the cold September night's frigid air. "Sh-she died giving birth to me..."

"You're anemic or somethin', aren't you?"

Gaara shook his head slowly. "I-I'm not very tolerant to the cold."

Suigetsu bit his lip, a sharp canine making itself known on his pale lips. He leaned in to the redhead, the tip of his nose brushing against Gaara's gently. Suddenly, before Suigetsu could make a move, Gaara fought away from him, shoving the older teen away as Suigetsu fought to pull him closer. The struggle didn't last long as Suigetsu's hands grabbed Gaara's shoulders, slipping up to his neck slowly. Gaara shoved him away again, grabbing at his shirt to pin him, only resulting in a pair of hands wrapping around the hood of Suigetsu's jacket, slowly moving up to Gaara's face as they made eye contact. Not breaking the gaze, Suigetsu leaned in, keeping Gaara locked tight in his grasp, cautiously leaning forward as their breathing hurried a bit, the exertion of fighting in the cold air a bit tiring. Gripping either side of his face, Suigetsu leaned in, capturing Gaara's lips passionately, pressing the redhead back lightly to lay down. Gaara pressed back with twice the force, not wanting to be dominated so easily. Their lips slid together perfectly, tongues slipping out to taste another's as a warm flush seemed to overtake them. The older teen shifted his weight, his balance and Gaara's lack of making it easy to press the redhead down into the grass, the hoodie cushioning him lightly as Suigetsu's hand slid up his shirt, flicking across a pert nipple teasingly. Gaara gasped quietly, his brows furrowing as his head lilted to the side, whispering out, _"What are you doing...?"_

Suigetsu leaned into his ear, licking the outer shell of it, letting his tongue weave in between the piercings as he muttered against Gaara's cheek, laying a soft kiss, _"Proving you aren't alone like you think you are, Gaara."_

With a smirk against the redhead's pale neck, the white-capped teenager's tongue slid up the prominent jugular vein, catching the hitch in his breath as Suigetsu lay a playful nip at the taut flesh, his hand wandering beneath Gaara's shirt to feel along the sinewy flesh, warm and delightfully tense as his hand slipped lower, along the waistband of Gaara's distressed jeans, undoing the belt buckle with ease that made Gaara believe that he had done this before.

_"No...stop, Suigetsu..."_

With a shudder, Suigetsu realized how rarely Gaara said his name, biting his lip. "What...?"

"N-no..." The redhead breathed, "No..."

"Why not...? Give me one good reason and I'll stop."

"Becau..._se,_ because! No...!"

Suddenly, Suigetsu pulled Gaara's head up sharply, growling into his ear, _"That isn't a good reason."_

_"I-I'm not gay..." _Gaara mumbled breathlessly.

_"Yeah..." _Suigetsu returned honestly, unbuttoning Gaara's jeans with a flick of his thumb, _"Neither am I."_

Gaara's mouth snapped shut in surprise, Suigetsu bunching his shirt up above his pectorals, leaning down to swipe a tongue across one of the pert pink buds. Arching, Gaara whispered, "It's cold."

Suigetsu slipped Gaara's arms into the sleeves of the hoodie, keeping his shirt pushed up as he teased the redhead relentlessly, loving the way Gaara was so silent, even in intimate acts such as this. _"You don't talk much, do ya?"_ Not waiting for a response, Suigetsu slid his hand down lower, unzipping and tugging down Gaara's jeans, revealing those pale hips barely concealed by tight black boxers, his hand caressing Gaara's hard on through the soft cotton of his boxers. _"You're pretty, y'know that?"_

Gaara bit his lip, glaring slightly at the white-haired teen. _"Shut up."_

With an earnest smile, Suigetsu only ducked his head to capture those flushed pink lips again, slipping his tongue in quickly as the quiet redhead gasped. Pressing a finger to his leaking tip through the boxers, Suigetsu smirked, slipping his hand into Gaara's boxers to stroke his erect member. With trembling lashes, Gaara adverted his eyes, staring instead to his hand, curled up near the side of his head. The scent of nicotine, alcohol, and weed enticed the redhead as he inhaled against Suigetsu's hoodie, the smell dizzyingly pleasant, seductive as he moaned into the sleeve quietly. With a sly smile, Suigetsu tucked a strand of his shoulder-length hair behind his ear, watching the younger teen writhe beneath him.

Gaara turned his head slowly to look Suigetsu in the eye, a cautious air about him. Almost soundlessly, he muttered, "Don't stop..."

Suigetsu only replied, _"Give me a good reason not to..."_

-o-

Sitting out on the deck, Gaara slowly raked his hands through his hair, the orange glow of the sky casting a shadow on the world. Staring out blankly, he sighed, leaning back in the cushions, eyes glazing over with distance. Even the footsteps on the deck didn't stir him from his almost merciful zen as the cushion shifted with extra weight.

"Gaara...you alright?" the teen asked him quietly, his hair smelling of fresh bleach, his tank top of cologne. Gaara ignored him, not acknowledging his presence beyond a simple blink. "C'mon. Talk to me," the white-haired teen lit a cigarette, taking a drag and blowing the smoke up into the air.

"..."

"..." Suigetsu sighed, an exhasperated smirk on his features. "You never did talk much."

"She's dead, Suigetsu."

Suigetsu's eyes flew open, looking at his boyfriend incredulously. "You're kidding! I thought they said-"

"I know what they said," Gaara said quietly, his voice low and raspy.

His eyebrows furrowing, Suigetsu looked over to the redhead worriedly. "Gaara..."

"..." Gaara simply shook his head no, taking the cigarette from between Suigetsu's lips and walking over to the railing of the deck, faded white paint now chipping, an orange glow illuminating it comfortably. The redhead took a drag of the cigarette, blowing the smoke serenely.

"That's bad for you, you know," Suigetsu got up, following his boyfriend to the railing, his hair shining with a light yellow glow. "You're gonna end up like her."

"Not likely. It runs in her family, not mine."

"...huh?"

"She's my half-sister, remember? Different mothers. Her mother died of lung cancer when she was twelve years old," Gaara took another drag, handing the burning cigarette back to Suigetsu, who sucked gratefully, blowing rings of smoke into the setting sun.

"So you don't think you'll get it?"

"I couldn't be that lucky..." Gaara crossed one arm over the other, staring down at the ground fixedly, yellow poppies dying in the dirt.

"Aww...they're dyin'..." Suigetsu muttered softly. "We can replant them next year, if you want."

"...is there a good reason to?"

"Is there not?"

Gaara's lip quirked up at the corner, a small smile gracing his features for half a moment before disappearing again.

"...You're gonna miss her."

"..." Gaara swallowed hard, biting his lip. He croaked out hoarsely, "Already do..."

They stood in silence for a while, Suigetsu pretending to not notice the slow tears dripping down Gaara's cheeks for the sake of his pride, flicking the ashes into the ash tray balanced on the railing. The leaves glowed brilliant shades of red and yellow, complimenting the sunset perfectly. Suigetsu hadn't been to Gaara's house much, but he could feel the history in the walls, the paths walked around the house, the childhoods spent and wasted. He could taste the bittersweet memories on Gaara's tongue, see the melancholic history in his lonely seafoam eyes. It was enough to break Suigetsu's heart without suitable reason. Flicking the ashes into the tray once more, he let the cigarette waste between his fingers, burning slowly and without purpose. The first stars of twilight began to glow, bright, bloody red, reminding Suigetsu of a lot of things that didn't really matter as he flicked the ashes once more to prevent them from falling into the already dying flowers that Temari planted last summer when he remembered Gaara told him that they said she'd get better. That the cancer was gone. Her hair had never even fully disappeared. It was thicker, a few days ago. Longer. Down to her shoulders. She looked like a mother, almost, the way she would coddle Gaara and fuss over her fiancée, instead of her old Yotsuba hairstyle opting for a bun or even just down at times. She looked healthier. It wasn't her time to go. It didn't seem that way at least. There wasn't really a good reason for her to die either. But at least now, Gaara had him.

"I'll go to the funeral with you," he said simply once Gaara's tears had stopped, knowing that the redhead appreciated his façade.

"You don't have to," he said evenly, blinking away the haze of tears.

"I'm gonna."

"There isn't really a good reason for you to," Gaara stood up straight from his previous position leaning on the railing, the sunset starting to die and burning out bright, making him look down to avoid the bright haze.

He felt a calm hand intwine its fingers with his.

"There isn't a good reason for me not to, kiddo," Suigetsu mumbled simply, putting out the cigarette in the ashtray finally.

-o-

* * *

A/N: For Haaku12, the winner of my Heart-Shaped Box contest!

She gave me the oddest pairing that I never considered in my entire life. SuiGaa. And...pfft, well, here it is! My first shot at it.

I don't know too much about Suigetsu, so I tried to capture his personality to the best of my ability. And that's how he came out. Happy, sarcastic, but with a sentimental side that I guess comes with most artists. He's kinda deep, if you think about it!

And Gaara...where do I begin? He came out a bit depressing. It's been so long since I've really tried to get into his character. The last time I cosplayed him was with my best friend cosplaying Sasuke and we kind of acted silly the whole convention. Like, we chased eachother up and down the escalators and played ninja and etc. **Laughs**

But I think I should've attempted to get more into his character before writing this. That probably would've helped. I mean...it seems a bit like him, though he came out a tad too talkative, honestly. I wanted him to be a bit more...silent...than that. But, I guess Suigetsu can drag that out of people.

I realize that this started turning into a bit of a ShiIta, same story different lyrics with another pairing, but it works for them. And finding a way for them to meet was one of the hardest things I've had to do. It was actually going to be they originally both had a crush on Sasuke and that's what brought them together XD. I realized though that that was too much like a ShiSasu I read (An incredible one) called All Your Different Smiles (Forgot the author...oops!), but I urge you to check out that one.

Anyways, Haaku12, I hope this is to your liking, and everybody else, enjoy!

By the way~You may not have a good reason to review...but you also don't have a good reason not to. :D


End file.
